Motherwork includes often difficult conversations as mothers try to regulate their adolescents’ social media use

05 Mar 2026

This study rests on the premise that motherhood is composed of unaccounted invisible work. Moreover, motherhood is not a natural or biological identity, but rather an active act of doing. Instead of “motherhood”, the term “mothering” best encapsulates the work that mothers do. Extending this further to a sociological concept of articulation work originally posited by Strauss (1985), mothering is argued in this paper to be “motherwork”. It is a negotiation between managing and making-do with discontinuities that arise in the act of mothering. This involves conversations, often difficult to facilitate, that mothers do in their attempts to regulate their adolescent children’s social media use.

Using an exploratory interpretivist approach to communication research and using the tools of feminist interviewing and focus group discussion (FGD) facilitation, this paper examined how authentic connections between mothers and their adolescent children are made possible in parental regulation of social media use. Thirty (30) mother informants were selected using intensity sampling. Guided by Carey’s (2009) Communication as Ritual Model and Kramarae’s (2005) Muted Group Theory, data revealed how authentic connections between mothers and their adolescent children emerge in conversations that covered following: a.) body, voice, and sexuality—a bridge over muddy waters; b.) housework, productivity, and functionality—a challenge to old paradigms; c.) happiness and success—the convolution between the now and the future; d.) community, parenting, and family—the ambivalent “village”; and e.) influence, purpose, and value—the anxiety to matter.

This paper shows the intensity of “accidental unmutings” in conversations about motherwork. Mothers’ reflections reveal insights that help us rethink how we engage with technology, how it shapes our identities, and how social media relates to parental regulation. These insights are “accidental” because they go beyond mothers’ initial concerns—such as screen time, misbehavior, or neglect of school or housework. The term highlights the spontaneous, moment-to-moment responses mothers negotiate. Unmuting also counters the historical mutedness of mothers when expressing the complexities of motherwork. Through everyday conversations about children’s anxiety, chores, or sibling conflicts, mothers reveal deeper insights into human connection. As first responders to their children’s needs, they continually correct, mend, and care in the course of daily life.

Author: Julienne Thesa Baldo-Cubelo (College of Mass Communication, now the College of Media and Communication, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://www.plarideljournal.org/may-akda/baldo-cubelo-julienne-thesa/

Image by Pixabay from Pexels

Motherwork includes often difficult conversations as mothers try to regulate their adolescents’ social media use

This study rests on the premise that motherhood is composed of unaccounted invisible work. Moreover, motherhood is not a natural or biological identity, but rather an active act of doing. Instead of “motherhood”, the term “mothering” best encapsulates the work that mothers do. Extending this further to a sociological concept of articulation work originally posited by Strauss (1985), mothering is argued in this paper to be “motherwork”. It is a negotiation between managing and making-do with discontinuities that arise in the act of mothering. This involves conversations, often difficult to facilitate, that mothers do in their attempts to regulate their adolescent children’s social media use.

Using an exploratory interpretivist approach to communication research and using the tools of feminist interviewing and focus group discussion (FGD) facilitation, this paper examined how authentic connections between mothers and their adolescent children are made possible in parental regulation of social media use. Thirty (30) mother informants were selected using intensity sampling. Guided by Carey’s (2009) Communication as Ritual Model and Kramarae’s (2005) Muted Group Theory, data revealed how authentic connections between mothers and their adolescent children emerge in conversations that covered following: a.) body, voice, and sexuality—a bridge over muddy waters; b.) housework, productivity, and functionality—a challenge to old paradigms; c.) happiness and success—the convolution between the now and the future; d.) community, parenting, and family—the ambivalent “village”; and e.) influence, purpose, and value—the anxiety to matter.

This paper shows the intensity of “accidental unmutings” in conversations about motherwork. Mothers’ reflections reveal insights that help us rethink how we engage with technology, how it shapes our identities, and how social media relates to parental regulation. These insights are “accidental” because they go beyond mothers’ initial concerns—such as screen time, misbehavior, or neglect of school or housework. The term highlights the spontaneous, moment-to-moment responses mothers negotiate. Unmuting also counters the historical mutedness of mothers when expressing the complexities of motherwork. Through everyday conversations about children’s anxiety, chores, or sibling conflicts, mothers reveal deeper insights into human connection. As first responders to their children’s needs, they continually correct, mend, and care in the course of daily life.

Author: Julienne Thesa Baldo-Cubelo (College of Mass Communication, now the College of Media and Communication, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://www.plarideljournal.org/may-akda/baldo-cubelo-julienne-thesa/

Image by Pixabay from Pexels